Tribune. In 2010, Christian Blanc, then Secretary of State in charge of the development of the capital region, proposed, on behalf of the State, the construction of the “Grand Huit”, a 130 km automatic metro network, supposed to link them and in Paris, the development poles. In a forum of World (“Observations sur le Grand Huit de Christian Blanc”, June 3, 2010), I concluded my analysis as follows: “Le Grand Huit does not respond to a logic of improving travel conditions. It testifies to an outdated vision of the conditions for economic growth and a spatial planning bias contrary to the ecological objective of putting an end to urban sprawl. “
The Grand Huit was not financially compatible with the “Arc Express” region bypass project and other urgent investments (extensions of line 14 to the north-west and of the RER E at La Défense, improvement of capacity and the regularity of the existing rail network). Out of 130 kilometers, only 40 kilometers were guaranteed to attract heavy traffic commensurate with the capacity and cost of a metro.
Deliberately underestimated costs
The region severely criticized this project. Its president, Jean-Paul Huchon, supported a much more useful and financially realistic project: “Arc Express” (it is line 15 of the Grand Paris Express). The situation was blocked and a compromise had to be found. This was done to the satisfaction of the stakeholders: the Grand Paris Express was born.
Of course, it costs more than the Grand Huit or Arc Express since it is the combination of the two. Its only advantage is that it has more useful lines where the choice of the metro is justified: on line 14, extended to Carrefour Pleyel in the north and Orly in the south, and line 15 of the bypass, although its route is not not optimal (too far from Paris to the east and north-west).
Since 2011, the project has not been changed. Jean-Marc Ayrault, then Prime Minister, specified the phasing of implementation, today largely shifted due to the upward revision of costs, deliberately underestimated initially. Before the pandemic and the significant growth in indebtedness in France, the Court of Auditors already denounced the drift in costs and recommended revising the scope and strongly reviewing the phasing of the project. Whatever, nothing seems to call into question this project, partly useless, a project which seems to be supported by almost all political parties.
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